Eugene william nohl



gutter tetra strut ffitr.

EUGENE WILLIAM NOHL, OF RIPON, WISCONSIN.

Letters Patent No. 64,353, dated April 30, 1867.

IMPROVEMENT INMANUFAGTURING METALS, GLASS, AND POTTERY.

film gtljthlllt retreat in iu-tlgcse Ztttrrs 33mm mm taking part attlgesame.

TO ALL WHOM IT MAY CONCERN:

Be it known that I, EUGENE WILLIAM NOHL, of Ripon, in the county of Fonddu Lac, and State of Wisconsin, have invented a new and usefulImprovement in the h/Iannfaeture of Metals, Glass, and Pottery; and I dohereby declare that the following is a full and exact descriptionthereof, reference being had to the accompanying drawings, and to theletters of reference marked thereon. Y

My invention relates to the employment of gas as fuel, instead of coalor other solid fuel, for manufacturing iron and other metals from ore.

The chief objects of my improvement are the economy of fuel, thecomplete control of the heat and the amount of fuel consumed, and of theamount of ore fed into the furnace, in order to speedily fuse successiveportions of ore, and remove the metal without burning the same, thusproducing a greater amount and a better quality of iron or other metal.

My invention consists in the conversion of the coal or other sol'd fuelinto combustible gas by the aid of a blast in the gas generator, andthen bringing the hot gas directly into the furnace, and burning thesame, connection with a blast of air, the flame being directed upon theore in the manner of a compound blow-pipe on a large scale.

In the application of my invention, it may be necessary to modify, insome degree, the apparatus hitherto employed in the manufacture ofmetals from their o'res'; but I do not limit my improvement to anyparticular construction of apparatus, so long as the operation issubstantially thesame. Thegas generator and the furn-ace proper shouldbe in close proximity, yet separated by a due, andeach should beprovided with a separate air-blast, to enable the operator to controlthe amount of gas generated in a given time, and also to control therapidity of the combustion of the gas in the furnace. Arrangementsshould also be made to feed the ore regularly into the furnace, at arate corresponding to the heat and the progress of the reduction of theore already under fire. And the bed or floor of the furnace should beinclined, so that the fused metal may readily flow away from the hottestpart of the tire, and then be drawn from the furnace withoutinterrupting the blast or checking the heat upon the central mass of orealready glowing, yet not sufficiently heated for fusion. I also preferto introduce the blast upon opposite sides of the gas generator and ofthe furnace. The apparatus for accomplishing these different purposesmay be arranged in any well-known or suitable manner without depart-ging from my invention.

The operation is as-follows: At the commencement of the blast a portionof ore is placed in the furnace without the usual admixture with coal orother solid fuel. Then a current of gas from the gas generator isbrought into the furnace and burned, in connection with a blastof air,the flames being directed upon the mass of ore, in the manner of acompound bl0w-pipe,'on a large scale. Under this concentrated heat theore is quickly fused, and the metal immediately flows away before thesame is burned or overheated. As the pile of ore under fire sinks away,a continuous supply of fresh ore is fed steadily into the furnace insuch manner as not to materially interrupt the glowing heat of thecentral mass of ore where fusion has taken place or is about tocommence. The metal is drawn 013' from the furnace and cooled withoutbeing kept long in a fused state, thus preventing injury fromoverheating, and also preventing loss by oxidation. I prefer introducingthe currents of gas and of air on opposite sides of the furnace, and notat the bottom or under the pile of ore, and to have the escape tinespass under the bed of the furnace instead of rising directly from thetop of the furnace.

My new method of reducing ores, above described, has been put intopractice upon a large scale, and thus thoroughly tested. The chiefadvantages are:

1. Economy of fuel, the ordinary waste from the chimney-top beingavoided by the use of gas and the complete consumption of the same, andthe fusion of the ore and-production of the metal being sooneraccomplished.

2. The metal produced is larger in quantity and better in quality thanthat obtained in the old methods. 3. There is little liability ofchilling the blast or burning the'metal, and the furnace can be cleaned,or the blast suspended on the Sabbath, with little trouble or expense.

This process is very important in the manufacture of iron, and it isalso applicable to other ores an metals, and to glass and pottery.

I am aware that the waste heat and accompanying gases have beenconducted into furnaces, and such combustible gases therein burned, inconnection with solid fuel and a blast of air; and also that coal hasbeen converted into gas, and the latter brought into a furnace andburned without a blast of air; but I believe my method of manufacturingmetals, glass, pottery, and other articles, is new and an improvement.

Having thus fully described my invention- I claim the manufacture ofmetals from the ore, without the usual mixture with the latter, of coalor other solid fuel, by means of the combustion of gas generated for thepurpose, and brought directly into the furnace, and burned, incombination with ablast of air, substantially in the manner and for thepurposes set forth.

EUGENE WILLIAM NOHL.

Witnesses:

WALTER S. SANDS, N. H. STEVENSON.

